1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to handle attachment structures, and in particular, to dual-bearing fishing reel handle attachment structures for non-rotatively attaching the handle to the tip of an endwise-threaded handle shaft in the dual-bearing reel.
2. Description of Related Art
Among dual-bearing reels having a drag mechanism on the handle shaft, round dual-bearing reels having a metal reel body that is approximately circular when viewed from the side are known. With this type of round dual-bearing reel, the handle is attached to the end of the handle shaft and is usually fastened on by a nut. A turn-stop member is attached to the nut, so as to prevent the nut from loosening when the star drag of the drag mechanism is rotated in reverse.
The handle includes a plate-shaped handle arm, which is mounted on the handle shaft, and grips attached to either one or both ends of the handle arm. The turn-stop member is made of an approximately teardrop metal plate, and is mounted on a surface of the handle arm facing away from the reel unit (outer handle surface). A star-shaped engagement hole for engagement with the peripheral corners of the nut is formed in the turn-stop member. Screwing the turn-stop member fast onto the handle arm stops the nut from loosening. With this configuration, the turn-stop member protrudes slightly from the outer surface of the handle arm, and the nut protrudes outward from the turn-stop member. Furthermore, the head of the screw for holding the turn-stop member protrudes from the turn-stop member.
When the nut and the turn-stop member protrude from the handle arm, there is the problem that bait or debris tends to adhere to the protruding portion, and the fishing line gets tangled on the protruding portion.
In this regard, for dual-bearing reels that are not round, there are configurations in which the nut and the end of the handle shaft are covered smoothly by a turn-stop member made of a synthetic resin polymer. However, when a turn-stop member thus made of a synthetic polymer is used for round dual-bearing reels made of metal, the uniformity of the overall design is lost, making it difficult to impart a classic feel to the appearance.
An object of the present invention, adopted in round dual-bearing reels manufactured of metal, is to impart a classic feel to the appearance of, and moreover prevent line from getting tangled on and debris from sticking to, the outer surface of the handle.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a dual-bearing reel handle attachment structure for non-rotatively attaching a handle to an end of a handle shaft of a dual-bearing reel, in which a threaded portion is formed on the end of the handle shaft, includes a handle arm, a nut and a turn-stop member. The handle arm has a mounting hole with which the handle is mounted non-rotatively to the end of the handle shaft, and a non-circular accommodating recess of a predetermined depth formed around the mounting hole on an outer surface of the handle arm. The nut has a polygonal outer peripheral portion and is screwed to the end of the handle shaft. The turn-stop member, which is accommodated in the accommodating recess, is substantially coplanar with the outer surface of the handle arm and stops the rotation of the nut by engaging with the outer peripheral portion of the nut.
With this handle attachment structure, a turn-stop member arranged on the outer surface of the handle arm is accommodated in an accommodating recess formed in the handle arm, and the outer surface of the handle arm and the surface of the turn-stop member are coplanar. Therefore, only the nut protrudes from the outer surface of the handle arm, so that a round dual-bearing reel made of metal with a classic design is obtained, the fishing line is prevented from becoming entangled with the outer surface of the handle, and debris is prevented from adhering to the outer surface of the handle.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a dual-bearing reel handle attachment structure as in the first aspect, the turn-stop member is made of a metal plate. In this case, metal, which is stronger, is used for the turn-stop member, so that the turn-stop member can be thin, and the accommodating recess can be shallow.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in a dual-bearing reel handle attachment structure as in the first or second aspect, the perimeter of the turn-stop member conforms to the edge of the accommodating recess. In this case, the gap between the turn-stop member and the accommodating recess is small, so that less foreign matter accumulates in the gap. Also, the turn-stop member is kept from rotating in the accommodating recess, and the engagement structure with the turn-stop member is simple.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in a dual-bearing reel handle attachment structure as in the third aspect, the accommodating recess has, formed surrounding the handle shaft, an approximately teardrop rim made up of a large-diameter section, a small diameter section formed in a position at a remove from the large diameter section, and a linking section that links the two in an envelope curve. In this case, a simple structure in which the turn-stop member keeps the nut from rotating and the turn-stop member itself does not rotate can be achieved on a minimal area.
In a dual-bearing reel handle attachment structure according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in a structure as in the fourth aspect, a fastener that screws the turn-stop member in the accommodating recess fast to the handle arm is formed in a turn-stop portion corresponding to the small diameter section; and in a turn-stop portion corresponding to the large-diameter section an engagement hole is formed for engagement with the outer periphery of the nut. In this case, the turn-stop member is kept from rotating by screwing the turn-stop member into the accommodating recess.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in a dual-bearing reel handle attachment structure as in the fifth aspect, the fastener includes a through-hole through which the threaded portion of a threaded member including a head portion and a threaded portion smaller than the head portion can be passed, and an accommodating portion for accommodating the head portion. In this case, while the threaded member keeps the turn-stop member from rotating, the head portion of the threaded member does not protrude from the turn-stop member, and fishing line is not so easily caught between the head portion and the turn-stop member. Therefore, entangling of the fishing line on the outer handle surface is prevented even better.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in a dual-bearing reel handle attachment structure as in any of the first to sixth aspects, the nut is a metal hexagonal cap nut including a hexagonal nut portion of predetermined length, and a cap portion with a diameter that is smaller than the nut portion""s diameter. Herein, the cap portion of the nut is made to cover the end of the handle shaft, and giving the shape of the cap portion a smooth convex surface prevents line from getting tangled on and debris from sticking to, the outer surface of the handle
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in a dual-bearing reel handle attachment structure as in the seventh aspect, the predetermined length of the nut portion is 0.8 to 1.3 times the thickness of the turn-stop member. In this case, the nut portion hardly protrudes from the turn-stop member, which reduces the likelihood of the nut portion being felt by the hands or otherwise coming in to contact with fishing line.
From the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art.